ST. LOUIS—Saying that the city has had this coming for a long time and this moment was as good a time as any, St. Louis officials encouraged fans celebrating the Blues Stanley Cup victory Wednesday to just burn the city down and finally end everyone’s suffering. “To all the Blues fans out there...

Angry Pissbum

I don’t think the Bruins played bad last night- I think the Blues put on an absolute clinic, especially in the second and third. I mean, that was a pretty good team putting on a defensive master class. The Bruins had chances and got stopped by a goalie standing on his head.

I was able to get there with the Blackhawks in 2013. The end of Game 6 was horrific but I thought of Chicago aw the better team and hoped Boston could overcome that.

Like others, I know the Blues were better last night (Malden High would have been better than the tepid Bs last night), and have trouble viewing St. Louis as a better team overall.

I get it, shades of Kordell Stewart with the second point, and it’s ultimately irrelevant, but my perception, coupled with the thug coach and the thuggery on the ice, makes that team beyond repugnant for me. And not a victor I can easily salute.

These are the kinds of losses that especially embitter me. This is like both Giants SB losses.

This is insulting and completely inaccurate. The Bruins “showed up” last night. They carried play in the first and couldn’t finish due to blocked shots, good goaltending and pure shit luck. They made two mistakes and they ended up in the net. That allowed an already great defensive team to put on that d zone trap clinic. I hate anytime the Bruins lose, a segment of the fan base thinks it’s an effort thing. That seems to only happen in hockey. The Bruins would’ve beat probably 25 NHL teams last night playing that exact same game.

lurker

This is insulting and completely inaccurate. The Bruins “showed up” last night. They carried play in the first and couldn’t finish due to blocked shots, good goaltending and pure shit luck. They made two mistakes and they ended up in the net. That allowed an already great defensive team to put on that d zone trap clinic. I hate anytime the Bruins lose, a segment of the fan base thinks it’s an effort thing. That seems to only happen in hockey. The Bruins would’ve beat probably 25 NHL teams last night playing that exact same game.

Well-Known Member

The Bruins could have played just as "physical" (e.g., dirty) as the Blues once it was obvious the refs weren't calling it. I'll never understand why they didn't unless they were afraid it was going to be called against them because they weren't the better story. Or maybe they just don't know how to any more without the likes of McQuaid, Hnidy, Thornton, etc. that used to be there to fuck guys up and take the penalties to send a message. Would have loved to have seen Rask channel Thimas and knock some St. Louis skaters on their ass when they started running him.

But, hey, they're one of the favorites to win it next year. Once they get through the mourning process, anger will kick in and hopefully it'll fuel them next season and into the playoffs. Would love a rematch, but the Blues likely don't even make the tournament next season.

Brad tapped Binnington early in G4 after Berube’s complaints. Got 2 min.
Blues flopped on multiple occasions inG1-3 and got calls for it.
The cheap / overly physical stuff isnt the Bruins game and they were also likely a little worried about risk of attempting it. Nor do they really have the guys for it.

Skrub's sympathy case

This is insulting and completely inaccurate. The Bruins “showed up” last night. They carried play in the first and couldn’t finish due to blocked shots, good goaltending and pure shit luck. They made two mistakes and they ended up in the net. That allowed an already great defensive team to put on that d zone trap clinic. I hate anytime the Bruins lose, a segment of the fan base thinks it’s an effort thing. That seems to only happen in hockey. The Bruins would’ve beat probably 25 NHL teams last night playing that exact same game.

has big, douchey shoulders

This is insulting and completely inaccurate. The Bruins “showed up” last night. They carried play in the first and couldn’t finish due to blocked shots, good goaltending and pure shit luck. They made two mistakes and they ended up in the net. That allowed an already great defensive team to put on that d zone trap clinic. I hate anytime the Bruins lose, a segment of the fan base thinks it’s an effort thing. That seems to only happen in hockey. The Bruins would’ve beat probably 25 NHL teams last night playing that exact same game.

lurker

Despite the terrible ending, this will go down as one of my favorite sports teams ever, for a multitude of reasons, but first and foremost, it was the first team my 5 year old really loved.

I’m sure many on this forum have gone through the same, but it was such a cool experience to see sports through the innocent lens of a child for the first time. He cheered for every B’s goals like it was the first he had ever seen (even the meaningless goal late in the third in G7), and took every opponent’s goal like he was hit by a truck.

As for the X’s and O’s, it seems to me in addition to the obvious need for a RW, this team has also been hurt by the lack of development of a C who can take the throne from Bergeron (paging Tyler Seguin, thanks Chiarelli...). It seems the wear and tear of being a defensive beast and offensive centerpiece is too much for his 35 year old body to take at this point and remain effective.

Thanks, Dad. A, it was in after glow of major disappointment. B, if you think the Bruins played at all well in that game, you're delusional. It was not just a case of the Blues taking it to them. The Bruins were not crisp and after the first period, put only sporadic pressure on Binnington. It was a truly surprising performance for a Game 7 of the Finals at home.

Member

Thanks, Dad. A, it was in after glow of major disappointment. B, if you think the Bruins played at all well in that game, you're delusional. It was not just a case of the Blues taking it to them. The Bruins were not crisp and after the first period, put only sporadic pressure on Binnington. It was a truly surprising performance for a Game 7 of the Finals at home.

The Bruins played well in the first period until Marchand's brain cramp on the line change at the very end, which was a completely unforced error. Still the Blues get credit for capitalizing on the mistake.

With a 2-0 lead, the Blues were able to Park the Bus from that point onward and wait for opportunities. They did play that game to perfection. Meanwhile, the Bruins did seem off their game in periods 2 and 3. It's why I keep pointing to forward depth on the middle 6 being an Achilles heel of this team. Sweeney did a great job addressing it by adding Coyle and MoJo, but it wasn't quite enough.

Angry Pissbum

Thanks, Dad. A, it was in after glow of major disappointment. B, if you think the Bruins played at all well in that game, you're delusional. It was not just a case of the Blues taking it to them. The Bruins were not crisp and after the first period, put only sporadic pressure on Binnington. It was a truly surprising performance for a Game 7 of the Finals at home.

Perhaps I'm delusional, or perhaps you don't really know hockey maybe. That was an outstanding performance by St. Louis and that's why the Bruins lost, not because of their faults (while there were some, no doubt).

But I'm just being kind of a salty dick because as the playoffs have gone on this forum has become filled with a lot more nonsense as the number of contributors has increased. A lot of folks who appreciate the sport and have enjoyed this playoff run have come on board and that's awesome. The reactionary shit and shallow analysis of the game has been a lot more prevalent, and that's annoying. So don't take it personal- you, and many other people, have had bad takes around here recently.

I don't know though- I don't really know your work as a poster, we tend to run in different circles. Maybe you're quite knowledgeable about hockey and I miss it or we just haven't discussed the game enough. All I do know is what I saw on Wednesday night, and that was confirmed by many other people I know who really understand the game.

Angry Pissbum

The Bruins played well in the first period until Marchand's brain cramp on the line change at the very end, which was a completely unforced error. Still the Blues get credit for capitalizing on the mistake.

With a 2-0 lead, the Blues were able to Park the Bus from that point onward and wait for opportunities. They did play that game to perfection. Meanwhile, the Bruins did seem off their game in periods 2 and 3. It's why I keep pointing to forward depth on the middle 6 being an Achilles heel of this team. Sweeney did a great job addressing it by adding Coyle and MoJo, but it wasn't quite enough.

Member

Thanks, Dad. A, it was in after glow of major disappointment. B, if you think the Bruins played at all well in that game, you're delusional. It was not just a case of the Blues taking it to them. The Bruins were not crisp and after the first period, put only sporadic pressure on Binnington. It was a truly surprising performance for a Game 7 of the Finals at home.

Skrub's sympathy case

If that’s a reference to the prostate cancer thread I started a few weeks ago, thank you and I don’t go back to him for about 5 months. So nothing to report. In the meantime, I’ve had no issues whatsoever in my recovery, thankfully, and resumed exercise this past week.

With that perspective, the suck of Wednesday night seems less significant. But I’m not always good at perspective.

Skrub's sympathy case

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!

If that’s a reference to the prostate cancer thread I started a few weeks ago, thank you and I don’t go back to him for about 5 months. So nothing to report. In the meantime, I’ve had no issues whatsoever in my recovery, thankfully, and resumed exercise this past week.

With that perspective, the suck of Wednesday night seems less significant. But I’m not always good at perspective.

I think he was referring to the reports that will inevitably come out today or tomorrow as to which players were playing through injuries that will require surgery in the offseason. Which is always a factor this late in the playoffs.

Skrub's sympathy case

I think he was referring to the reports that will inevitably come out today or tomorrow as to which players were playing through injuries that will require surgery in the offseason. Which is always a factor this late in the playoffs.

That was the one area where they had a significant advantage over the B's and it came to roost at the most important time. As I have said several times, it really was Bruins 2011-esque, just the opposite.

Yup - a lot of the reason the B's forwards looked so tepid at even strength, in addition to Parayko and Bouwmeester being absolute monsters in their own end, was the Blues' center play. O'Reilly gets a lot of the plaudits, but Sundqvist and (to a lesser extent) Schenn were similarly strong in their own end.

The B's goal explosions came when penalties were actually being called in this series. Once the penalties stopped, the B's became neutralized at even strength.

Member

If that’s a reference to the prostate cancer thread I started a few weeks ago, thank you and I don’t go back to him for about 5 months. So nothing to report. In the meantime, I’ve had no issues whatsoever in my recovery, thankfully, and resumed exercise this past week.

With that perspective, the suck of Wednesday night seems less significant. But I’m not always good at perspective.

I honestly had no idea, so my apologies. Best of luck on your recovery, as I'm sure you'll beat it handily.

As @Salem's Lot noted, I was referring to the inevitable laundry list of undisclosed injuries that always come out after the Bruins are finished with their playoff run. I wouldn't doubt that at least a couple of Bruins players were playing through something that would have nearly all of us limited to rest, ice, and elevation. Same goes with the Blues players, so I'm not using injuries as an excuse. Just the injury report sometimes explain something we've been noticing that goes beyond the increasingly tired and lazy, Felger/Mazz-ian "player so-and-so is soft and never shows up in these situations" takes.

Don’t want to go that deep on this, but both those games the Blues were down a player to suspension, both of which are critical pieces to their penalty kill. At full strength personnel wise the Blues won 4 of 5 and led 2-0 in the other. The power play and the suspensions made it a competitive 7 game series but the Blues outplayed them.

Well, saying Malden High (Currently co-oping with Revere) would have been better than the "tepid Bs" seemed a bit reactionary. But again, don't take it personal, I was just annoyed at reading things like that or worse for a while.

Well-Known Member

Don’t want to go that deep on this, but both those games the Blues were down a player to suspension, both of which are critical pieces to their penalty kill. At full strength personnel wise the Blues won 4 of 5 and led 2-0 in the other. The power play and the suspensions made it a competitive 7 game series but the Blues outplayed them.

All Hail King Boron

The biggest play that swung the series in the Blues' favor was the head shot on Gryz. They won that game because he was out, and it led Berube to complain about penalties, which led to the Game 5 reffing disaster.

The NHL decided to make Berube head of officiating in the middle of the series and it killed us.

Member

Perhaps I'm delusional, or perhaps you don't really know hockey maybe. That was an outstanding performance by St. Louis and that's why the Bruins lost, not because of their faults (while there were some, no doubt).

But I'm just being kind of a salty dick because as the playoffs have gone on this forum has become filled with a lot more nonsense as the number of contributors has increased. A lot of folks who appreciate the sport and have enjoyed this playoff run have come on board and that's awesome. The reactionary shit and shallow analysis of the game has been a lot more prevalent, and that's annoying. So don't take it personal- you, and many other people, have had bad takes around here recently.

I don't know though- I don't really know your work as a poster, we tend to run in different circles. Maybe you're quite knowledgeable about hockey and I miss it or we just haven't discussed the game enough. All I do know is what I saw on Wednesday night, and that was confirmed by many other people I know who really understand the game.

I endorse this post 100%. Once they got behind it was an extreme uphill battery. StL played very well and definitely benefited from the whistles being swallowed. With the lead, STL could pack it in tight and really control the front of the net really without any repercussions. It was game 7 and that was to be expected so I'm not laying it at the feet of the refs saying the B's got screwed. It's just reality. The trip on McAvoy and a lot of stick work that in a regular season game leads to a few penalties and quite possibly a different outcome.

Anyone who wants to throw out that the Bruins lacked heart or didn't show effort can get bent. If that's the prism you see the game through then the perhaps the actual competition doesn't really matter to you and only the outcome. Hockey might not be for someone if they see it that way. They got beat, it happens.

Member

I don't understand why people watch sports if they think only 1 team is good and the other 31 teams suck and didn't try hard enough. And that's basically what a lot of people are saying. It's fucking insane.

Skrub's sympathy case

The level of overreaction to a comment in a game thread the day after a disappointing loss is profound. I know the pile on urge is great and it’s fun to marginalize. But holy shit, saying the Bruins didn’t play particularly well on Wednesday night shouldn’t be controversial and should not imply that there’s no understanding that the Blues played well.

Member

O'Reilly was playing with a cracked rib and managed to score 5 goals and win the Conn Smythe.

If Marchand's hand was injured, that sucks, but I would have to think going out and playing such a physical game with a cracked rib would be so much harder. And that's not a celebration of ROR, just saying that the Bruins weren't the only team with injuries so it's not entirely fair to use them as a scapegoat. The injuries were unfortunate, but what ultimately doomed this team wasn't the refs or the head shots or the brain farts by Marchand: it was the inability to put the puck past Binnington when he was still very beatable. He wasn't in Game 7, not after that initial rush, but he was in the other games and they just didn't make his life hard enough. Part of that credit, a lot of it, goes to the Blues' defense, but a lot of people complained about how seldom the Bruins just shot the puck at the net and how much they passed back and forth trying to set up the perfect shot. When they stormed the gates, they generally had good luck. They didn't do that enough in some games (especially in the middle two games that they lost) and it gave the Blues the chances they needed to get a couple on the board and then slowly suffocate them. Not sure why that is, but they definitely could have had more scoring chances (and maybe even more scores) if they'd shot the puck more instead of passing it over to the next guy. I don't know if that was Cassidy's decision or if it was just hesitation by the players on the ice, but it is still puzzling why they just didn't take all the shots they could. Maybe they thought Binnington was better than he was and played accordingly? If just one of those early shots had gone in during Game 7, I'm pretty sure they win the day. Damn shame that they didn't play with that kind of intensity in the opening periods of every game or throughout. What could have been...

Member

Obviously every team has injuries of some sort this time of year. Just saying, they can provide a partial explanation of why a particular player's ice time is limited, or why they seem to be less than 100% effective. It's far more useful of an indicator than "they just didn't try hard enough" or "they didn't play with heart" or similar nonsense. The injuries can also provide an insight into what aspects the team should improve upon during the offseason.

Angry Pissbum

The level of overreaction to a comment in a game thread the day after a disappointing loss is profound. I know the pile on urge is great and it’s fun to marginalize. But holy shit, saying the Bruins didn’t play particularly well on Wednesday night shouldn’t be controversial and should not imply that there’s no understanding that the Blues played well.

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